Economical Large Scale Family Tree Banners

Wow Factor at Family Reunions

In the summer of 2008 we had a KERR family reunion on Vancouver Island. Since I’m into genealogy I looked for a way to make a continuous family tree banner.

My software program will make pages that I can print off and tape together…but that wasn’t good enough. I wanted a large scale continuous BANNER.

I finally found a software program that would accept my gedcom and background picture. (Family Tree Factory, $39.95 USD). (note this is not the same as Family Tree Maker).

This feature-laden program has a steep learning curve…although I suppose it would have helped if I had read the tutorial

I saved the output as a pdf file and emailed it off to the local print shop.

Above is the end result and below is a close up zoomed in section of the middle of the banner. I repeated the photo along the entire length of banner.

These are my KERR grandparents. The size of the banner is about 13 feet by 15 inches. I had two copies printed off and it cost about $13. The print shop charges by the square foot.

This poster banner was a big hit at the reunion. I had relatives put their corrections and additions directly onto one of copies of the banners.

This was the start of several creations. I made another banner for a major milestone birthday in our family on my husband’s side.

What if you have a large family?

This banner was quite a bit larger, approximately 20 feet by 3 feet.

Click on the picture for a larger view.

We had the party in a community hall so there was lots of room to display it on the wall. This kitchen floor picture doesn’t do it justice! Yes, that is our dishwasher and yes, that is the cat slinking across the far end

Here is the close up detail.

This is my husband’s AUMACK family. This banner cost about $30 to print.

If you are a do-it-yourselfer this is a very economical way to produce the WOW factor at family reunions.

Family of Seven – Joan said Family Tree Factory, but Family Tree Maker will also do a one-page pdf that can be printed. Joan, what print shop did you use in Calgary? I assume you used one in Calgary. I have clients who want to have these for their family reunions. I can save the file but not every print shop prints them or does it so economically.

Hi Xenia,
I have tried Family Tree Maker for these banners but don’t have the same control on the output as I do in Family Tree Factory. Granted, FT Factory does takes a bit of fiddling to get it just right but I like the fact I can change the box size, font, distance between boxes, background picture, line width, add a coat of arms, colours, etc. Endless options actually.

I print them at Insource (formerly Kinkos) at North Hill Shopping Mall in Calgary. They charge by the square foot. If no background picture it is very inexpensive at 29cents/square foot. With a background graphic it is $6/square foot (at the time of writing). Eighteen feet long and 4 feet wide are the maximum sizes currently available.* I email Insource the pdf file and pick up the print out a day or so later. They do a good job.

Hi Joan,
Most of what you describe can be done in Family Tree Maker. You just have to know where to find how to change these items. It is less intuitive than what it used to be and they have renamed the various charts. So it is a lot of fiddling, which it sounds like it is the same in Family Tree Factory. I complained to FTM about one chart feature that had gone missing. It hadn’t. It was just renamed, revamped and not obvious. It used to be simpler in my opinion but the features are there and I have produced the reports and some clients have them plotted at work. A few I have do not have this option and could not find a printer who knows how to expand it or at such a reasonable cost even if it is twice what you paid. Thanks for the nmae of the printer you used.

Hi Xenia,
I have used the FTM chart options but still prefer using FT Factory for long banners. There are many programs that do family tree outputs and it is fun to see the great charts one can make. I like Legacy for their fan charts and recently was playing with MyHeritage online which also generates nice charts.

–Joan

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